If the name Rich Tlapek doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you may know him as the guy who was reportedly responsible for penning Southwest’s “Ding: You are now free to move about the country” tagline while at GSD&M, where he worked for 14 years. Now, after spending the last several months freelancing for the likes of Sid Lee, Innocean and Saatchi LA (and even starting up what appears to his own operation, Sacred Cow), Tlapek has taken his talents to Boulder and joined up with CP+B as creative director on the Best Buy business.
During his lengthy stay at GSD&M, Tlapek moved up from copywriter to group creative director, leading work on accounts including the aforementioned Southwest as well as Charles Schwab, CBS Sports and Goodyear, which the Austin agency debuted over a year ago.